Years ago I worked as a business consultant for a company that specialized in increasing the revenue and productivity of small companies in the office products industry. One of the services we provided was an audit of the work flow to uncover flaws in the system that could affect profitability. Most clients didn’t have their procedures written down (big mistake) so that was usually the first recommendation. But one of our clients actually bragged about how everything was in writing and everyone followed the procedures. He practically dared us to find any holes in his system.

As part of the audit we followed the process desk by desk using the the written documentation. I came to on woman who was splitting paperwork – keeping some on her desk and putting others on a desk behind her. I had been impressed up to that point because everything was tracking perfectly. The next step brought me to the desk where the woman had been placing the papers. It was piled high – some had actually spilled over into a nearby wastebasket – and they dated back a couple of months. So I asked the woman why the papers were put there and she told me that they were things that needed to be billed to agencies. I asked why it was so backlogged and she said the person who did the job had left months ago! That was all she could tell me – it wasn’t her job, so the buck (literally) stopped there. I was stunned (though I will admit to also feeling a little bit triumphant since we had been so robustly challenged).

When we reported back to the boss, he was incredulous. There were thousands of dollars of unbilled service tickets on that desk – our audit paid for itself with that discovery.

So, the lesson is – don’t assume all is well because there are no obvious “fires”. It isn’t enough to have something written down – audit your own processes or, better yet, hire someone outside the company to do it for you. Fresh eyes won’t make the same assumptions that you might.

Audit your own processes for your personal business as well. Check that your automated payments actually went through and that they were for the correct amount. LOOK at your bank statements and bills and don’t assume they are correct. It is especially important to review bank statements now when there seem to be new types of banking fees every month. Don’t let any money fall into your wastebasket.

” Shorris’s Assumption: Assumptions keep us awake nights. ”

~ Earl Shorris